DALLAS, TX - There’s no denying the remarkable growth that pickleball has experienced in the US in recent years.

In fact, it officially surpassed tennis in terms of the total number of players in 2023, according to an Apple study released in October.

While the sport has also gained traction overseas, it hasn’t hit that same level of popularity yet.

Lunar Pickleball founder and owner Matt Nola is one of the folks trying to change that narrative.

Nola first discovered pickleball in 2019 in Wichita, KS, quickly falling in love as he made the transition from tennis.

“The social aspect of pickleball combined with the opportunity for competition and a deep love for the game drove me to want to become a better player,” he said.

As he put more time into the sport, though, Nola’s primary goal remained the same: to bring his profound appreciation for pickleball to Asia.

In July 2022, he took the first step in Laos.

He wrote a letter to the country’s ambassador to the United States, sharing his vision of introducing pickleball to the country.

The following month, he met with Laos’ Minister of Sports and Education to further discuss this vision and ways the sport could be used to enrich Laotian communities.

Nola wasn’t just interested in bringing pickleball to one country, however. He wanted to contribute to the sport’s development in places where it already had a presence as well.

He attended and competed in the Asia Open in Phuket, Thailand in March and noticed that some of the players were competing with worn-down equipment.

Seeing that only gave Matt a better idea of the role Lunar could play in growing the game.

“We wanted to fill gaps so that athletes can have the same resources and opportunities to get to tournaments and to have the proper equipment,” Nola explained.

With the Lunar brand continuing to develop and the wheels still turning, Nola continued making moves to bring pickleball to Laos during the spring and early summer.

He and some members of the Lunar team traveled to the capital, Vientiane, to host the country's first official open play pickleball event in May, taping lines to make two courts.

That same month, Nola attended the Southeast Asian Games, where he represented Laos in the opening ceremonies and spoke to the Laotian Olympic Committee about pickleball being included in future installments of the SEA Games.

Lunar came out with its first paddles later that summer, and a number of the brand’s athletes competed at the World Pickleball Championship in Bali, Indonesia a few months later.

“We had a full-blown team of athletes,” Nola raved. “We had our paddles out and everything, so we were able to launch our brand. It became a huge hit.”

Even as pickleball continues to grow in Southeast Asia, players there still face the challenge of having few designated courts to use.

But, Nola thinks it’s only a matter of time before the sport takes off in that part of the world.

“Once the governments start to support and invest in pickleball, I think it’s going to be a game-changer for the east,” he shared.

On the business side, Lunar Pickleball has even made headway in the US by sponsoring PPA players Lingwei Kong and Maddie Schulte.

The story of pickleball in Southeast Asia is far from over, but all signs have it going ‘to the moon.’